Herb Crusted Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce

Man, oh man. It seems like just when it can't get any better, Pinterest goes ahead and introduces me to recipes that are even more fantastic than the ones I've already made. Can it be possible?! Well, it must be, because I just made a recipe tonight, and it was pretty f'ing fantastic! Probably more than anything else, I look for recipes on Pinterest. I love getting inspiration for new meals to try, and for one reason or another, the things I find on there just make me feel a little more confident in myself. Rightfully so, because many of the meals of tried have made it into my regular rotation! Anyway, last week, I stumbled across a recipe for Herb Crusted Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce, and I've been thinking about it since the moment I spotted it. Ha! Traveling so much makes it tougher to cook during the week because my meals are usually so big, and I don't want to waste food by not finishing leftovers. Fortunately, I was able to buy the ingredients I needed for this recipe last week, and today was a 4:30 day for me (Mondays and Tuesdays, our office is open until 6:00, but we get to switch off and leave early every so often), so cooking this meal worked out perfectly! It may even last me all week! Anyway, I don't want to keep you in suspense any longer, so I thought I'd share it with you right here. If you try it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! I'll include the recipe in the blog post, as well as my very non-professional pictures, but if you feel like checking out the original blog, you can look here!

 All the ingredients!

 Browning the chicken after it's coated in bread crumbs and seasoning!

After it's pretty well cooked through.

Saute the garlic!

Then add chicken broth.

Time for the whipping cream and diced tomatoes.

 And the Parmesan cheese, basil, and pepper.

 Let it simmer and thicken...

 And pour it over the chicken. Voila!!

ENJOY!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded thin (I used a 3-pack of chicken.)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup Progresso Garlic & Herb bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons McCormick Roasted Garlic and Bell Pepper Seasoning (I found it easily at the store, so hopefully you can too!)
• 1 teaspoon freeze dried chives (Not really sure what freeze dried spices are, so I just used the equivalent of chives that you buy in the seasoning aisle.)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 can Italian diced tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used a 5-cheese blend and it was perfect.)
• 2 tablespoons freeze dried (or fresh) basil
• Dash of fresh ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:  

• Place bread crumbs, Roasted Garlic and Bell Pepper Seasoning, and freeze dried chives in a shallow bowl; mix thoroughly. 
• Place milk in a separate shallow bowl.  
• In a skillet, heat butter on medium heat. Meanwhile, pound chicken flat and thin for even cooking if you haven't done so already. (I don't have a meat mallet, so I didn't do that part.) 
• Dip the chicken in the milk, then coat with crumb mixture.  
• Cook chicken in butter until browned and cooked through. Remove and keep warm. (The original recipe said this should take about 10 minutes, but because my chicken was thicker, it was probably more like 15-20 minutes to make sure the chicken was cooked through.) 
• In the same skillet, add garlic and saute for approximately 1 minute.   
• Add chicken broth and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir occasionally to loosen browned parts from the pan.  
• Stir in cream and tomatoes; bring to a boil and stir for one minute.  
• Reduce heat to low; add Parmesan cheese, basil, and a dash of pepper. Stir sauce and cook until heated through and thickened (about 5 minutes). 
• Serve by pouring the sauce over the chicken. For added flair, serve the chicken and sauce over cooked pasta. (I didn't make anything else because the chicken was enough food for me, but I bet it would be great with pasta. I'll consider making the sauce on its own too!)